Hydration or Dehydration

So today's run ended with the conclusion that the ease of the run has to do with hydration, well at least for the two mile runs we've been doing. 

Doesn't seem like a genius statement, I know. But Tuesday's run was harder for me because I was not as hydrated as I should have been; the few beers the night before soaked up some moisture (or maybe I can claim its still the cold weather).  Hilary's run today with her coffee guzzling habits was harder for her.  Both were consequences of our own dehydration.

I didn't know this was a profound statement until I spoke with my dad today.  I thought everyone knew.

He made me feel as if I was a genius, well somewhat.  He was skeptical of this and had really never thought that water effected your workout.  Yes, this is the man who works out religiously almost every day. 

Maybe I am not all that smart. Maybe I am wrong. When the robotic engineer heads to the gym tonight to test my hypothesis, we will see.  I am sure he is bound to prove me wrong.

Brrr!

I know I can seriously not even say that word yet...but I have to admit that this morning's run was much chiller than it has been the last few weeks.  Ok, maybe the coldest I ever have run in, not meaning much (it was probably in the 40s). We needed gloves (which, of course, my brillant running partner remembered, but I didn't) and ear warmers to keep us warm. 

Yes, I know that I have a few months of those extremely chilly runs and I have to admit that it wasn't all that bad.  It was a different kind of run, because I never got hot, but I didn't stay cold all that long.  I was, though, freezing once we cooled down.

I feel kind of guilty for even complaining about this, honestly. I have a feeling I might like running in the cold, once I can figure out the appropriate attire.

Day 2

Ok...2 miles is more work then Yoga but today's run was simple.  I think to myself...well I can at least accomplish about 1/13th of whole Marathon.  I guess I really am on my way :)

Hilary and I had been running on this path near my house, and today we opted out of the Hills.  I think we have decided this is just not a today thing; maybe a forever thing.  Not that we don't need to train on Hills, but these are massive and going down them is really rough on our knees, so we have vetoed those.

Today, I kept telling myself...
"You can't complain about 2 miles, considering this is just a small coverage of my end goal."
Luckily, I didn't have to tell myself too many times, but for some reason the last 1/2 mile wasn't as easy as the rest.  Probably because I knew I was almost done.  It's this whole mental game.

And here I go...

Believe it or not (because I am not sure I believe it yet), but I did sign up for the LA Marathon on March 20, 2011, last night.  Thankfully, my official first day of training happened to be yoga day so I am not groaning yet.

A friend of mine, Hilary, and I joined Team in Training which is the largest fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Through the team we get training, coaching, weekly practices and I am sure a lot more than I even know now.  Sounds like a lot of support so far, but I know this is something that I can do.  I just have to do it mentally.

This commitment is not all that random, because I have wanted to run a marathon for a few years.  Well maybe my goal had fallen recently to a half, but its something I have wanted to do.  I somewhat dragged Hilary to the meeting last night and we were both thinking before that even a half sounds like a lot. And well...what do you know...an hour later we've embarked in twice that! Thanks to Hilary's words of wisdom...

"Go Big or Go Home!"

So here we go! We are going big!